NtechLab Fallout, a New Biometric Module, and Earnings: Identity News Digest

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

NtechLab Founders Quit Over Russian Operations: Report

The co-founders of Russia’s NtechLab have revealed that they resigned from the company over disagreements about business operations in the country. The news comes after this week’s report revealing NtechLab to be one of multiple facial recognition vendors serving the Russian government. Artem Kukharenko and Alexander Kabakov say they had pushed the NtechLab board to end all work in the country and relocate elsewhere, which most of the board rejected. One of the founders resigned in December of 2021, and the other followed in March of 2022, just after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Earnings from Trust Stamp, AuthID, Zwipe

Trust Stamp has issued a corporate update for fiscal 2022, marking a 46.4 percent increase in revenues year-over-year. The revenues, amounting to $5.4 million, included contract wins from new and existing customers; but the figure does not include a $1.5 million deal with a new client in the criminal justice sector, as revenues from that partnership will be recognized over the period of a long-term alliance. The company’s net result was a loss of $12.09 million, compared to a net loss of $9.05 million the year before. Selling, general, and administrative expenses accounted for 71 percent of the company’s total operating expenses.

AuthID, meanwhile, has issued a fiscal update on the heels of a massive corporate overhaul that brought in new board members and a new CEO earlier this month. The company reports an adjusted EBITDA loss of $11.4 million for 2022, compared to an EBITDA loss of $8.1 million the year before. But it had secured financing of up to $3.6 million from investor Stephen J. Garchik before the year’s end as part of its broader plan for corporate changes; and while overall revenues were down from $0.6 million in 2021 to $0.5 million last year, revenues from AuthID’s Verified identity solution increased from $0.1 million to $0.2 million.

Zwipe is reporting an uptick in sales and the strongest quarter in its history in terms of revenues. Interest in its fingerprint-scanning solution for biometric cards, Zwipe Pay, led to a 72 percent revenues increase for that product, and an overall revenue bump from NOK 2.5 million in 2021 to NOK 3.9 million last year. The company characterizes its business as having entered a new, “execution first” strategic phase – notably marked by its CEO change last June – and being on the cusp of “an inflection point” with respect to market interest in its biometric payment and access control solutions. Its net result for the year was a loss of NOK 104.8 million, compared to a net loss of NOK 83.5 million in 2021.

Suprema AI Launches Facial Recognition Module

Suprema AI has launched a new facial recognition module that can support up to 50,000 users. The “Q-Face Pro” solution features a built-in Neural Processing Unit and a Secure Element chip for the encryption of biometric data. What’s more, its AI algorithm is designed to maintain a high level of accuracy when end users’ faces are obscured by face masks, hats, and glasses; and it features anti-spoofing capabilities. In addition to facial recognition, the module also supports QR code and barcode reading.

New York Police Arrest Individuals Connected to Druggings for Phone Access

New York police authorities have arrested a group of people involved in a string of robberies in which the biometric authentication systems of victims’ phones appear to have played a central role. Victims would be approached as they departed bars and nightclubs, and then drugged with incapacitating narcotics. After that, in at least some case, their faces would be used to unlock their phones and access accounts. In two cases, victims were killed through drug overdoses.

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March 31, 2023 – by Alex Perala

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